Category: Guest Contributors

Posted on by David Hopps

INSIDE SRI LANKA A – monthly insider’s report by Royston Ellis

Colombo’s Bouqinistes

Paris may be famous for its bouquinistes, stalls selling second hand and antiquarian books lining the banks of the River Seine, but Colombo also has them. They don’t line the banks of the Beira Lake and tourists seldom find them but they are invaluable for the traveller. These wayside booksellers are to be found opposite the traffic island where D R Wijewardana Road meets T B Jayah Road, within walking distance from Maradana Railway Station.

 

They are extremely useful for travellers because they not only stock old books and guides about Sri Lanka and many other countries but have thousands of books that can be bought or even borrowed.…

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Posted on by Nerone Fernando

November dawns on Kalametiya Bird Sanctuary

By- Beckie Johnson

[Beckie Johnson, our guest contributor, owns Taragala Place, on Kalamatiya bird sanctuary]

The seasonal rains have been late coming this year at Kalametiya bird sanctuary Click Here , so the lagoon has not swelled and filled up as in previous years. However, I wait with baited breath. As soon as the waters begin to flow in and the waterholes begin to fill the birds will get a whiff of it on the wind and come forth.

I can hear the change from early in the morning. I’m used to waking up to the call of the peacocks from our roof or from the big ‘Palu’ tree in front of our house, but the day the rains begin to make a difference is something else.…

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